Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1887-01-27

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of the town looking for purchascablo
homo that day, They had been mar
ried five years, but this was their first
day together Little wonder Is It, then.
that they well nigh forgot the object Of
their quest and wandered away across
the river among the wood pastures and
lost the day and the whole world in
listening TO their whispering hearts.
by the next day they were somewhat
more attentive to sublinary things,
which resulted in their finding cot
tage exactly to their eye upon the brow
OF a wooded slope, looking down Upon
the cool and glistenihg mill-pond, and
beyond that to the town. This they
presently purchased; for while Absa-
lom had been ono Of the most dashing
and lion-like soldiers, with the face. of
his scarccly-kissed wifo ever before
him, he had not been improvidcnt, and
ere long they were snugly settled In
their breezy home. AbealOm went Inn
mcdiatcly into the supcrintcndence of
Jool's mills by tho river, and with
tho flight Of n sunny twelvemonth
he might have boen seen sitting upon
the veranda Of tho cottage, like some
gigantic unrlassified kind of moth that
had been wallowing in pollen, with a
little blinking Heater upon either knee.
That this subducd and purring person,
wcll-nigh eclipsed by the twins and
corn-meal and flour. could have been
one of the livclicst and bravest OF sol
diers in the Army of the Potomac
seemed in the face Of appearances
something doubtful. However. that
was his reputation; for though he never
could be inveigled into rccounting his
own valorous deeds, there were those
who never tired Of talking of his
bravery and daring. Among these
testimonials IL was told how, lying in
the trenches before Petersburg where
every moving object was in danger of
being riddlcd by the watchful foe, Alb
SALON. became restive upon a certain
occasion, and loaping upon the breast
work ran for half n mile along its top
in rain Of leaden hail and
jumped again into the trenches,
after i'll Again IL was told that when
he was a Lieutenant his Captain was
wounded and left upon the field in one
Of the charges before Richmond in
which the Federals were repulsed and
driven back into the trenches. Absa-
lom, discovering this, sprang upon the
brcastwork, looked sharply where his
superior had probably fallen. and dart
ed zigzagingly out upon the torn and
dcad-strcwn field. A blaze gushed
along the line of the foe, and he ran
forward into the teeth of tempest.
His cap was shot from his head, his
sword and scabbard were carried away,
but he brought the fallen officer from
the field aud laid him down in the
trenches and said never y word. Thou
sands of throats sent up cheer after
cheer for the brave deed, and the
sword he carried in his hand when he
came home to Openstone was the
sword that his company gave him when
he was made Captain. Whether or
not these "reminiscences, for there
were others Of u kindred nature, had
/ got somehow tinge of eXaggeration,
could not at this distance be fairly
! passed upon. But certain it is that one
seeing this alert and herculean fellow
| go about his daily business, might not
unreasonably suppose him capable of
a deal Of bravery. But In the hands of
the twins, or more correctly with the
twins in hand, he was as helpless as
one could well imagine. Ether for a
long time hovered about on such occa-
sions with Kind of breathless trepida-
ton, seeming well nigh as solicitous
for the safety of the father as for the
twins For at sundry times those
doughty bits of humanity being en-
throned upon either of his knees. each
with one Of his huge hands rayed out
/ Ill. n l. ~ a
| gurgled and shot forward shifting their
heads together, and Absalom. In his
frantic efforts to save them. Lad ended
by letting them run through his fingers
upon the floor in musical
and tangled mess For some mo-
mcnts thereafter he would have a
very wild expression, and for hours
would be seemingly weak and un-
strung, and twice after similar mis-
haps he had rushed sweating from the
presence of the twins. However, in
the main he was happy; especially on
those occasions when sitting by Ether
upon the yeranda, he held the twins
successfully. Here the Popps often
came singly and en- massc. Yeslit an
exceedingly volatile and high-spirited
creature, quite comely Of outline and
| feature, with rather moist, large
mouth that talked unutterably fast,
and ever and anon emitted little &C.
static shriek, came n great deal. Saloo,
who In those days began TO take on a
Kind of sloping-shouldered, angular
phase of manhood, came quietly.
like his mother, though with Il
somewhat ghastly display OF cuffs and
collar julius. TOO, put in uncomfort-
ably frequent appearances, and as faith
CT. grandfather and iather-in-law. was
gaseous to the limit of expression.
Joel also sometimes came, and occa-
sionally the stately Mrs Whitney
trailcd her silkcn plumage into the
breezy abode. But AbsalOm's proud
est moments were when "the Kids as
he never ceased TO call them, came on
Sunday afternoons and sat with him
upon his veranda while he had the
twins displayed, and his happiest when
Ether set the table upon the porch
with his growing beauties bolstercd up
in double high-chair beside il, aud he
looked across the snowy board and saw
Elher's bright cross-eyes and curly
head against a background Of green
tree-tops, glinting mill pond. white
town-houses, and the blue and billowy
reaches of the far on prairies.
CHAPTER XII
John Earling continued steadily at
his task; reading and studying at
every opportunity, with a mind so
clear and rotentive that what was once
gone over seemed never lost again.
Bower q Woodman thought very well
Of him, indeed, but discreetly said
nothing. However, old WOodman
could not deny himself some little APP
prObative pantOmime. and often when
John Earring came swiftly into the
Office and sat down and plunged at